Down by the Dark Pools
by Novi Zemog
Summary: On a day when he feels particularly alone, Hercules goes to beach where he ends up meeting someone a lot like him: red headed girl who is more than a little awkward. They don't know it, but they'd actually make a pretty good team.


It wasn't often Hercules went down to the water. He only went when he was felting particularly alone. Like now he guessed.

All the guys around his age talked of joining the Greek army. Hercules asked if his strength would be a help, everyone who heard laughed and said he's kill more of their soldiers than the enemy would. Someone had laughed saying that if he really wanted to help he should join the other side and thin out their forces.

He was a huge joke to them. He couldn't stand the laughing anymore. So he left his worried parents behind telling them he'd go for a walk and he did. There by the water he didn't feel so alone. Hercules wasn't sure why he felt that way, he didn't really have an affinity for water. He wasn't a particularly good swimmer, he couldn't make plants grow really well using only water, but for some reason the water really calmed him.

He grabbed a couple of pebbles and skipped them across the water moodily, the zoomed across the surface until they were out of sight and Herc seemed to get more upset every time. Why couldn't he be normal? He couldn't stand not being able to do anything. He had to be so gentle with his family, to make sure he didn't hurt them. Herc gave up rock skipping and shuffled his way to the deeper pools of the beach. He sat on the wet rocks and watched the fishes swim around the dark pools.

"Beautiful right? It's like the sea makes it's own music." Said a voice near him. Hercules jumped a foot in the air before falling into he pool. It was deeper than he thought, since the water was at his chest rather than his waist like he assumed. He couldn't see a thing because there was a starfish stuck to his face and he didn't want to crush the little thing by pulling it off.

The was a splash near him and he felt something move in the water. "Sorry, so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that I was just um...let me get that for you." Said a girl's voice. Herc flushed, he was never good at talking with girls. He clammed up, unable to reply as the starfish was peeled from his face. "There, that should do."

Hercules blinked and was surprised by the girl in front of him. She had bright red hair and big blue eyes. So far Hercules was the only redhead kid around so he was a bit surprised to find someone else like him. It also took him a moment to realize she was probably naked, given from her bare shoulders. The rest of her body was hidden by the pools dark water but Hercules felt his face heat up like a cattle brand.

"Oh my, I am so sorry I didn't know you were- I'll just be-"

"No please don't go!" She begged as she pulled on Hercules's clothes. He was clumsily pulling himself from the pool when this happened so he fell right back in the pools. Hercules could carry a giant marble pillar no sweat but he was apparently about as heavy as a sack of flower sopping wet in his winter clothes. "Oh I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you fall! I just wanted to...oh how do I?" The redheaded girl argued with herself while Hercules pulled seaweed from his hair.

The girl smacked her palm against her forehead a couple of times to think before turning back to him. "Hi I'm Ariel!" Her voice was loud and her smile was so wide it was kinda creepy, not to mention her hand was placed right in front of his nose in an odd way. Hercules was too busy treading water to return her weird handshake. While Ariel seemed to have no problem treading water without her right arm.

"Uhh...I'm Hercules." He offered back. Ariel looked at her hand confused before smiling again. This time it was normal, if a bit shy. "I should get out of the water before I wrinkle up. You probably should too." Hercules practically scrambled out of the pool and decided not to turn if the girl was going to leave. There was no sound of her moving so he turned back to the pool, and the girl was gone. Hercules wondered if he was hallucinating the girl before deciding to go home and change his clothes. He didn't really notice how much happier he felt when he headed back.

Hercules went back for about a week after meeting the girl. He didn't expect her to be there but he had hoped just a tiny bit. Ariel may have been weird but Hercules was weird too. Maybe for a moment he had hoped they could have been friends.


End file.
